Obziler ousted in 2nd round; Israeli will next face Romanian Edina Gallovits.
By ALLON SINAIShahar peer 298.88(photo credit: )
Shahar Pe'er cruised into the second round of the French Open on Wednesday afternoon by defeating Estonian Kaia Kanepi 6-1, 6-3 in a match that lasted just over an hour.
Pe'er, who is ranked No. 17 in the world and seeded 15th at Roland Garros, will next face Romanian Edina Gallovits (106), who reached the second round on Wednesday after her first-round opponent Vasilisa Bardina (60) retired with Gallovits leading 6-0, 4-0.
"I expected to win, but wasn't anticipating an easy match," Pe'er said. "I've never played Gallovits before, but I'm sure my coaches will tell me all I need to know about her. I'll have to play my type of game and do my best."
Pe'er is the last remaining Israeli in the singles draw after Tzipi Obziler was outclassed 6-1, 6-0 by world No. 11 Dinara Safina in their second-round match on Wednesday.
Obziler, 34, was no match for the Russian's vast array of shots and she won only 22 points throughout the two sets that lasted a mere 52 minutes.
Obziler (95) saved two break points in the first game of the match, but was broken on the third and fell behind. After losing the following game to love, the Israeli held serve to take what would prove to be her only game of the match.
Obziler reached her only break point of the match in the sixth game of the first set, but Safina held serve once more and soon after claimed the first set.
Safina was ruthless in the second set and wrapped up the win with six consecutive games.
The key to Pe'er's victory against Kanepi was her successful conversion of break points (6-for-6) and her consistent play from the back court (only 17 unforced errors). The Estonian committed 25 more unforced errors than the 20-year-old Israeli and had huge difficulties on her second serve, winning just one of 17 points.
After splitting the first two games of the match, Pe'er's aggressive attitude started to pay off and she soon ran away with the set. The Israeli won the fourth, fifth and sixth games without losing a point and wrapped up the set by holding serve in a tough seventh game.
Kanepi ended Pe'er's run of games with a break in the second game of the second set, but the Israeli regained the lead with a backhand winner in the subsequent game.
An unstoppable forehand winner clinched the fifth game for Pe'er and gave her a 4-1 lead. However, the Estonian broke to love in the following game and moved to within one game of the Israeli by holding serve.
Pe'er ended the two-game slide by holding serve in the eighth game and completed the victory with yet another break in the following game.
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